OT: Anyone else obsessed with setback / pitch!?

[Chin Diesel]

Setback and Hearts were the main card games when I was at UConn. Setback was with teams; you could draw cards after trump was named; you could turn in your hand if you were dealt all 3s through 9s; and you could "smudge" for five points (taking every hand between you and your partner).

When I was in the military and we were deployed, hearts was the game we settled on after everyone got sick and tired of every possible card playing partner they could find. At least with hearts you always knew it was 1 on 3.

Played a little bit of Pitch/Setback growing up. Most of my memory of the game was as a real young kid barely being able to see over a counter top mixing drinks for my dad, grand father and uncles as they played the game.

 

[temery]

I vaguely remember playing Canadian Pitch with Québécois relatives when I was a kid. Can't remember what the difference was.

 

[Icehawk]

Used to play this a fair amount when I was younger but haven't in a very long time. Also a fan of Pinochle and Hearts which are all sorta similar.

Setback is fun when played cutthroat too - 3 person. Definitely a different flavor to the game and one I recommend trying.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Skipped too many law school classes 5 decades ago playing set back in the cafeteria for a little bit of cash. Had a pitch league at work during lunch. Taught my kids. A dumbed down version of bridge with many different rules regarding
draw, ability to make points on someone else’s bid and other variations. Haven’t played in a looong time.

We went from Pitch to Hearts, which had a good run. Next was Pinochle, which we thought we mastered very quickly, so then came Bridge, which can span a lifetime. I objected, and took a semester plus summer off, and returned with all kinds of new interests and developed a new social circle to fit an enlarged identity.

I'm still loyal to my Wilder 930 crew, but at the 25 year mark, I stayed in a rustic B&B and hiked the Appalachian Trail, while they stayed at a luxury property that was once a Robber Baron mansion and golfed on site in daylight and played bridge after dark. Our gathered dinner was warm if sterile, and the following day, I and partner went to the Normal Rockwell Museum, before heading back to Long Island.

Poker was an entirely different group, with different hours, betting, and late night runs for chicken drenched in hot sauce that soaked a couple slices of white bread and a very memorable/delicious/bland macaroni salad.

 

[huskiemaniac]

Definitely a New England card game, anyone else enjoy playing? I’ll play cutthroat, teams, draw, kitty….

If I can’t find any humans to play with in person, I’ll hit the Trickster Pitch app.

‎Trickster Pitch

‎“I like the fact I can play Pitch with my friends.” Free, Live, Social Play – Your Way Let the fun begin. Play the game you love with friends and family or get matched with other live players at your level. Trickster Pitch offers customizable rules, so you can play Pitch your way! •...

apps.apple.com

Play with friends all the time…catch 5 most often though.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

I remember as a kid, you could lose a day's wages and tips on the ferry home from carrying bags at the Fisher's Island course or clean up.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Definitely a New England card game, anyone else enjoy playing? I’ll play cutthroat, teams, draw, kitty….

If I can’t find any humans to play with in person, I’ll hit the Trickster Pitch app.

‎Trickster Pitch

‎“I like the fact I can play Pitch with my friends.” Free, Live, Social Play – Your Way Let the fun begin. Play the game you love with friends and family or get matched with other live players at your level. Trickster Pitch offers customizable rules, so you can play Pitch your way! •...

apps.apple.com

I played every single day in High School (lots of free periods) and then quite a lot at UConn. We got quite good at it. This was the mid 80s. I don't think I've played since.

 

[dbmill]

I vaguely remember playing Canadian Pitch with Québécois relatives when I was a kid. Can't remember what the difference was.

My wife's father was born in Quebec. The big card game in her family is a French Canadian variation on Setback that is called Bloute. At any of their family parties it is very likely that this card game will be played.

 

[billythekid]

Loved playing when I was at UConn. I've been playing this app for a while and it works well. Not sure if it allows you to virtually play with friends, but it's quite customizable and works to scratch that itch.

Pitch - Expert AI - Apps on Google Play

Play Pitch (High Low Jack) or Auction Pitch (Setback) against the NeuralPlay AI!

play.google.com

 

[Palatine]

I almost flunked out of UConn as a freshman because of a non-ending Setback game for a dime a point. I missed the majority of my classes sitting at that table.

Later, when I lived at Hanks Hall, my roommate and I played as partners versus the guys in the room next door every night after dinner. We played the 5 &9 Setback ( a version where the 5 is worth 5 points and the 9 worth 9). We played to 100 or 150. At the end of the week the losers had to buy beer for the winners.

 

[Deepster]

So I've been playing quite a bit online at the start of this thread and have a strategy question.

4 players, 2 teams. No draw. High, Low, Jack and Game. 11 pts to win.

I'm seeing a lot of people bidding 2, not having the Ace and leading with the 2 on the first hand. In my head, I don't get it. Why not try to push the lead to someone else quickly, maybe you....

a) Can be 4th in the order and can drop the 2 in.
b) Be in a position to sneak the 2 past one of your opponents instead of both of them?

Is it some sabremetric odds play that it works more often if you just toss it out there first?

 

[AreBee1969]

We played Set Back every night in Hurley Hall and Windham Hall and it was really addicting. We didn't even play for money. A freshman on my floor in my sophomore year played set back all through the night, every night, then slept all day. First semester, he pulled a Bluto, 0.00, and was never seen again.

With family and in my home town we played 9-5, where those two cards in trump were worth 9 and 5 points, so 18 points per hand. Biggest difference was the player to the left of the bidder led at the start of the game.